Don’t be looking for any ‘stimulus’ swimming pools

Cities around the country have been put on notice by the federal government that stimulus money shouldn’t be spent on things that could be perceived as frivolous. That means no swimming pools, skate parks or other baubles that may make a few constitutents happy but could be hard to explain to Uncle Sam’s bean counters.

Emelie East, Seattle’s director of of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, told City Council members Monday that she and her counterparts from around the country were recently briefed on stimulus spending by Vice President Joe Biden. East said as federal funds start flowing – and many places like Seattle are still waiting for the checks to arrive – the Obama Adminstration wants to make sure that money is spent on worthwhile projects that will help create jobs.

She also told council members to expect a great deal of oversight. City Council President Richard Conlin said that shouldn’t be a problem for Seattle, which already has “a lot of good mechanisms for transparency” in government.